Fluidic card handling device

ABSTRACT

A card return device is provided for a random access mass memory system which utilizes a plurality of magnetic cards stored in a bin or magazine on a set of selector bars. The bin or magazine has adjacent thereto a return track along which the returning magnetic cards ride. A wall member confronting the return track and spaced therefrom forms a throat area through which the cards pass in returning to the bin. The selector bars are located just downstream from the throat area and a pair of pressurized elongated fluid ports located in the return track adjacent the throat tend to force the returning card away from the return track toward the selector bars. A card brake mechanism located in the return track operates to bring the card to a stop position at the point where the trailing edge portion of the card is acted upon by the jets issuing from the elongated ports. The returning card, however, is constrained from moving away from the return track by the wall member forming the throat. Shortly after the card is stopped the brake is turned off to premit the returning card to fall a short distance so that its trailing edge portion drops below the throat. At this time the fluid jets from the elongated ports force the card over onto the selector bars.

[ July 3, 1973 FLUIDIC CARD HANDLING DEVICE [75] Inventors: Arnold Schonield, Norristown;

Edwin R. Phillips, Rosemont, both of Pa. 7 r

[73] Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation, Blue Bell,

[22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 199,262

Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-H. S. Lane Attorney-Charles C. English et a1.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A card return device is provided for a random access mass memory system which utilizes a plurality of magnetic cards stored in a bin or magazine on a set of selector bars. The bin or magazine has adjacent thereto a return track along which the returning magnetic cards ride. A wall member confronting the return track and spaced therefrom forms a throat area through which the cards pass in returning to the bin. The selectorvbars are located just downstream from the throat area and a pair of pressurized elongated fluid ports located in the return track adjacent the throat tend to force the returning card away from the return track toward the selector bars. A card brake mechanism located in the return track operates to bring the card to a stop position at the point where the trailing edge portion of the card is acted upon by the jets issuing from the elongated ports. The returning card, however, is constrained from moving away from the return track by the wall member forming the throat. Shortly after the card is stopped the brake is turned off to premit the returning card to fall a short distance so that its trailing edge portion drops below the throat. At this time the fluid jets from the elongated ports force the card over onto the selector bars.

11 Claims,'7 Drawing, Figures SOURCE VA LV E I ll , VACUUM SOURCE PAIENIEDJUL a ma o o o o o O o ,/16b o O 0 00 o O 00 o o 32\ 28 3O ,/32 o o O o O j o 2? 1 zr 4 o O O O O o o o O oo 90 0 0 o o o r'16b 29 .47

o o 0 o W Hg 4 Fig 5 /15 x 11 AR SELECTOR g S MECHANISM SECTION -sToRAeE BIN DOCUMENT TRANSPORT TRACK F /'g I UTILIZATION STATION mamsum m 3.143.359

PRESSURE SOURCE '5 ll 2 wr SOURCE PAIENTEDJUL sma 3.743.359

sum 3 or 4 PAIENIEDJUL a ma am u 8? 4 Fig 6B Fig 64 M mm I l I I l I l l I l l i I I Ilizlllll 4 6 3 3 m U/ rLFL FILFLTLFLFL FLFLITLFFLF h C- 6 1 mm l l I l I I i l l l l .llbllll 4 6 3 3 FLUIDIC CARD HANDLING DEVICE BACKGROUND This invention relates in general to a document handling system and in more particular to a card return device for a card type random access memory system.

Random access mass memory systems utilizing magnetic cards stored on a set of selector bars located within a card magazine or storage bin are old in the art. In such systems the cards themselves are generally elongated plastic strips which are coated on at least one side with a magnetic material. Data, usually in the form of binary coded magnetic spots, is written on or read from the card as it is passed through the system. One end of the card contains a series of coded slots which are used to suspend the card from the selector bars. The bars are selectively actuated to release one of a multiplicity of cards held in the bin. When a selected card is released it is picked up by a transport system andtransported past a utilization station such as a read/write station where information is either read from or written on the card, or both. Thereafter the card is transported back into the storage bin and returned to the selector bars.

An area of concern in the construction of such a system is the provision of a simple and reliable mechanism for returning the card to the selector bars after it has been processed, and it is to this portion of the mass memory system that the present invention is directed. In more particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple, reliable and quick acting card return device for a card type random access memory system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, and in its more specific form, the card returning device of the present invention comprises a fluid powered card return track section located adjacent the bin. The return track provides an air bearing surface along which the cards ride while being returned to the bin. A wall member confronting the track at its point of entry into the bin area forms with the track a throat section through which the cards pass in returning to the bin. Just below the throat are the selector bars from which the cards are suspended.

A set of elongated fluid ports are formed in the return track adjacent the throat and the selector bars. The fluid issuing from these ports has the tendency to blow the card away from the track but the card is constrained by the throat forming wall member. A pneumatic brake section is formed in the return track near its terminal end and a card sensing station is disposed upstream from the throat section. As a card enters the return track section its leading and trailing edges are sensed at the sensing station to generate suitable control signals. These control signals are used to turn the brake section in the return track on and off. In more particular, the brake section is first turned on to-stop the card with its trailing edge (which is the slot coded edge of the card) in the throat area. Shortly after the card is brought to a stop, the brake is turned off and the card is free to fall a short distance to where the trailing edge clears the throat section. At this point, the fluid issuing from the elongated ports blows the trailing edge of the card over to the selector bars. To assist this action, the return track has a slight offset which-causes the card to be flexed during its passage through the throat. This flexing of the card is arranged so that as the trailing edge of the card leaves the constraint of the throat it snaps back into its normal unflexed shape and as it does so the trailing edge snaps over toward the selector bars.

A pair of snub rollers located on opposite sides and extending across the bin area grip the long edges of the card during discharge from and entry into the bin. These snub rollers act to impart a controlled velocity to the cards on both return to and discharge from the bin. Such controlled velocity renders the braking of the card on return more reliable and at the same time speeds up the discharge of the card from the bin on selection.

A more detailed description of the invention follows in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which FIG. 1 is a simplified diagrammatic view of a typcial document handling system in which the present invention may be used;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view showing the principal parts of the return mechanism comprising this invention;

FIG. 3 is a showing of a typical document utilized in this invention;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are opposing views of the throat area of FIG. 2 taken through the section lines 4 and 5 re spectively; and

FIGS. 6a and 6b show how the brake acts on a returning card.

Referring now to FIG. 1, 10 represents a storage bin or magazine in which the magnetic cards are stored. These cards are held on a set of selector bars (not shown in this figure) which are actuated by a selector mechanism l1. Actuation of the selector bars by the selector mechanism 11 releases a single card from the bin 10 and permits the same to discharge down chute 12 onto a transport mechanism l3. The transport mechanism 13 may be in practice a belt or roller type of system and in the preferred embodiment herein described is of a fluid nature. Fluid transport systems such as shown in U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,405,977 or 3,411,829 are typical of the transport mechanism that may be employed in the present invention. After the card has been engaged by the transport mechanism 13 and brought up to speed, it is passed through a utilization station indicated in general at 14. Again in. practice the utilization station may be a read/write transducer mechanism where information can be either written onto the card or read therefrom as it passes through the utilization station 14. After it leaves the utilization station 14, the card is then transported in the direction of arrows 15 back to the storage bin 10. Entrance into the storage bin 10 is via a card return section. 16 which forms the subject of the present invention. 1

Before describing the details of the present invention reference is now made to FIG. 3 which shows a typical card utilized by the present invention. As indicated in this figure, 17 represents the card which has a leading edge indicated at 18 and a trailing edge indicated at 19. Edge 18 is called the leading edge because it occupies the position of the arrowhead of arrow 15 when it is being processed through the system. The card 17 in a typical embodiment may have dimensions of 5.2 inches in width and 21 inches in length, and is coated on one side with a magnetic material. The trailing edge 19 contains a series of coded slots indicated in general at 24. In this case ten coded slots plus two end slots 23 are shown. Each of the slots 24 has associated therewith a tab element 25 or 26 which codes the corresponding slot in a binary manner. For example, if the tab faces to the right as viewed in the figure, such as tab 25, it codes the corresponding slot as a binary Conversely, if the tab faces to the left as indicated at 26, it codes the corresponding slot as a binary 1. In this way utilizing ten binary coded slots as many as 1,024 cards can be uniquely identified and selected by a single set of selector bars.

A diagrammatic end view of the elongated selector bars from which the cards are suspended is shown in FIG. 5. U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,557,948 and 3,576,256 are further representative of suitable types of selector bars useable by this invention. In FIG. 5 a card 17 which has been shown for simplification purposes as containing only 6 coded slots is illustrated. The selector bars are shown at 27 and 28 which for purposes of illustration only are illustrated as being pivotable about one edge 30. The opposite edge contains a small rail like member 29. The latter elements 29 are used to engage the tabs 25 and 26 and to prevent discharge of the card 17 unless the proper setting of the selector bars 28 has been made.

In FIG. 5 the six-bit code shown therein for card 17 corresponds to the binary code 010010 (reading the slots from left to right) and the selector bars 28 have been selectively pivoted to a position which would release the indicated card 17. In more particular, pivoting bars 28 to the right in FIG. 5 corresponds to a binary 0 select while pivoting the bars to the left corresponds to a binary 1 select.

In operation the selector bars 28 are first set to the desired position and then the two end selector bars 27 which may also be referred to as lifting bars are pivoted inwardly to permit the selected card to drop into the document transport system. The end bars 27 which engage the end tabs 21 and 22 associated with the two end slots 23 actually lift the card 17 up so that the selector bars 28 are free of the tabs 25 and 26 during selection.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which diagrammatically illustrates the principal portions of the present invention. In this figure the reference number 5 represents a mounting plate for the component parts diagrammed in the figure, and in practice plate 5 may assume a vertical orientation. The return end of the transport mechanism 13 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 2 as terminating in the card return section indicated in general at 16. A card entering the return section 16 enters lead ing edge first as indicated by the arrowhead associated with arrow 15. In the illustrated embodiment the return track section 16 comprises a box like structure in which the four walls are cemented or otherwise secured together to provide an air plenum chamber 16a to which air under pressure may be applied via a fitting such as 34. One wall of the return section 16 may be made of porous metal, perforated screening, or drilled plastic as indicated by the dotted lines 16g so as to provide an airbearing surface 1612 along which a card entering the bin can ride or float. At the entrance point to the return section 16 there is formed a throat area 33b which is formed by an angular wall member 33. In this case the wall member 33 comprises the end wall of an air plenum 33a. The wall member 33 diverges from the bearing surface 16b of the return track 16 at an acute angle and is arranged such that the inward most tip 330 clears the surface 161; of the return track 16 by approximately 0.02 inches. (The card thickness is typically 0.005 inches.) Located directly below the plenum chamber 33a are the selector bars for the cards 17. (Only the end or lifting bars 27 are shown in this figure.) The selector bars are, for purposes of illustration, shown as supported from a frame member 35 which is attached to the mounting plate 5. The free ends of the selector bars are offset from the bearing surface 16b of the return track 16 by approximately 30 mils or in other words are set back from the tip 33 c of the throat 33b by an additional 10 mils.

Formed in the return track 16 in the vicinity of the card throat area and the selector bars are a pair of elongated fluid ports 46 (also shown in FIG. 4). These ports direct a pair of jets vertically away from the edges of surface 16b along the outer edges of the card 17 as it enters the throat area of the return track 16.

The bottom end of the return track 16 is terminated in a vacuum type brake mechanism which comprises a vacuum chamber formed in the end of track 16 by a wall or partition 16d. The external end of the chamber 16c is terminated in another wall member 16s which has a lip 16f extending beyond the surface 16b of the return track 16. The lip or plate 16f is a safety device which will operate to stop a returning card if for some reason the brake fails to do so. The vacuum chamber 16c which may be typically 3/4 inches high extends across the width of the track 16 and like the return section 16a has a porous wall facing the card bin as indicated by the dashed lines 16g. I

Vacuum chamber 160 is connected through a fluid conduit such as 36 and a vortex amplifier 37 to a vacuum source 38. The control duct 37a of the vortex amplfiier 37 is coupled through an electromechanical valve 40 to a pressure source 39. In operation when the normally open valve 40 is open and control fluid is injected into the vortex amplifier 37 from source 39 the operation of vortex amplifier 37 is such that a vortex is created and a slight positive pressure will exist in the chamber 160 whereas when the valve 40 is closed and the small control pressure is no longer applied to the control element 37a of vortex amplifier 37 from source 39 a vortex is not created in the amplifier 37 and the vacuum source 38 produces a small negative pressure in the chamber 160.

To control the actuation of the valve 40 and therefore the card brake, a sensing element is located above the throat area 33 of the return track 16. This sensing element, which may take various forms such as fluidic or photoelectric, is shown in the present illustration as being of the photoelectrical variety. It includes a light source 43, and a pair of light pipes 44 and 45 arranged to direct the light from source 43 across the card bed to a photosensitive cell 42. The output of cell 42 is applied to an amplifier 41 the output of which in turn is used to control the valve 40.

In operation, the card being returned to the bin follows the arrow 15. As it does so the leading edge 18 of the card intercepts the light beam produced by light 43 and light pipes 44 and 45 to affect an output from element 42. This signal output in turn is amplified by amplifier 41 to close valve 40 and to produce a negative pressure in chamber 16c. When the leading edge of the returning card arrives at the sensing station 41 to 45 and the valve 40 is turned off thereby the vacuum building up in chamber 160 by the action of source 38 and vortex amplifier 37 pulls (as shown in FIG. 6a) the end card 17 held by the selector bars over to the brake section surface 16b. This action provides a seal for the porous surface of the chamber 16c and permits the vacuum in chamber 160 to stabilize before the returning card 17a reaches the brake. Then when the returning card 17a encounters the brake section, the brake will have maximum braking capabilities, and the end card being close (3/16 inch or less) to the return track 16 will prevent buckling of the returning card being braked. The location of the brake section (chamber 160) and the delays in the braking system are such that when the leading edge of the returning card engages the brake, the trailing edge of the returning card will be located in the throat area 33b when the returning card is stopped as shown by FIG. 61). At this point the end tabs 21 and 22 of the returning card are forced over into the recesses 32 of the wall 33 of the throat by the action of the fluid jets issuing from the elongated ports 46.

Before the returning card comes to rest in the throat area its trailing edge 19 passes the sensor (41-45) and as it does so a second signal change is produced by the element 42 which will open valve 40 at a point in time shortly after the returning card stops with its trailing edge 19 in the throat area 33b. When valve 40 is opened the operation of the vortex amplifier 37 and the vacuum source 38 produces a small positive pressure in the chamber 16c to positively force the leading edge of the returning card away from the brake section, chamber 160. At this time the card is free to drop a short distance (0.2 inches). As it does so its trailing edge clears the point 33c of the throat 33b and the tabs 21 and 22 drop below the recesses 32. At this point the elongated jets issuing from the ports 46 blows the trailing edge of the card over onto the selector bars.

To provide a positive snap action in this release of the card from the surface 16b of the card track 16 the bearing wall 16b is offset by approximately 0.1 inches as indicated at 16h in the diagram. Offset 16h is positioned immediately below the ports 46 and selector bars 27 and 28. The function of this offset is to flex the card as it passes through the throat 33b. Then when the tabs 21 and 22 on the card drop below the recesses 32 the action of the fluid ports 46 pushing on the flexed card causes the trailing edge of the card to quickly snap away from the surface 16b onto the selector bars 27 and 28.

To minimize wear on the cards and to permit separation between the returning card being stacked on the selector bars 27 and 28 and the previous end card in the bin, a series of small air ducts 32a spaced across the depth of the bin are formed in the base of the air plenum 33a. These air ducts establish a sheet of air between the returning card and the previous end card held by the selector bars and prevent these two cards from contacting one another during the stacking operation.

A pair of snub rollers, (one of which is shown at 50 in FIG. 2) running the full width of the bin may be utilized to assist in the ejection of the cards from the bin on selection and also to bring the cards down to a controlled speed during re-entry into the bin. In this embodiment a snub roller 50 is disposed on each side of the bin and is constantly rotated by a motor means 500 as shown in FIG. 2. In operation the snub rollers 50 lightly engage the long edges of the card 17 during the time that the card is entering the bin or when it is leaving. During storage, however, the indentations 20 (FIG.

3) formed in the edges of the cards provide a clearance between the snub rollers 50 and the edges of the cards. Thus in operation when a card is selected it drops a short distance and then is grabbed along its trailing side edges by the snub rollers 50. At this time the card is rapidly brought up to speed and is discharged quickly into the transport system 13. On returning to the bin the card is grabbed along its leading side edges by the snub rollers 50 and quickly brought down to a controlled speed. In a typical operating system a card entering the return section 16 may have speeds of 300 inches per second and the snub rollers 50 operate to reduce the card speed to typically a inches per second. In this way the cards entering the system are slowed by the rollers 50 to a predetermined velocity where the operation of the brake and the delays needed to time the operation of the brake are better defined and more uniform.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for handling documents of the type that have a notch coded edge; the combination which comprises, a document bin station for storing a multiplicity of said edge notched documents, a document return track disposed along one side of said bin station along which a document being returned to the bin rides, a set of code selector bars disposed within said bin station for holding a multiplicity of documents by their coded notches, said selector bars being disposed so that one set of their corresponding ends face the return track, said bin station further including a wall member dis posed in confronting relation to the return track to form with said track a throat area through which a document passes on its return to the bin station, said wall member being located slightly upstream from said selector bars, means for loading a document on said return track so that said document returns through said throat area with its notched edge in a trailing position, an actuatable brake means positioned along the track operable to momentarily stop a returning document with its notched edge in said throat area and to thereafter release the document for further descent below said throat area, and fluid port means positioned at the throat area operable to hold the: notched edge of the document against said wall member when said returning document is momentarily stopped and to blow the notched edge of the returning document to the selector bars after it has been released for further descent below the throat area.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the fluid port means are located in the throat area and the track includes an offset immediately below the ports which is operable to urge the document toward the selector bars.

3. The improvement of claim 1 which further comprises a document sensing station disposed along the track upstream from the throat for controlling the document brake.

4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and wherein said track includes a chamber to which a vacuum may be applied to thereby form the document brake.

5. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and said brake includes a chamber formed in the track and wherein a means including a valving mechanism is provided to admit either a negative or a positive pressure to said chamber.

6. The improvement of claim wherein there is included a document sensing station located upstream from the throat for controlling the operation of the valving mechanism.

7. In a device for handling documents of the type that have a notch coded edge; the combination which comprises, a document bin station for storing a multiplicity of said edge notched documents, a document return track disposed along one side of said bin station along which a document being returned to the bin rides, a set of code selector bars disposed within said bin station for holding a multiplicity of documents by their coded notches, said selector bars being disposed so that one set of their corresponding ends face the return track, said bin station further including a wall member disposed in confronting relation to the return track to form with said track a throat area through which a document passes on its return to the bin station, said wall member being located slight upstream from said selector bars, means for loading a document on said return track so that said document returns through said throat area with its notched edge in a trailing position, an actuatable brake means positioned along the return track, means for momentarily actuating said brake means to stop a returning document with its notched edge in said throat area and to thereafter release the document for further descent below said throat area, and fluid port means positioned at the throat area operable to hold the notched edge of the document against said wall member when said returning document is momentarily stopped and to blow the notched edge of the returning document to the selector bars after it has been released for further descent below the throat area.

8. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the fluid port means are located in the throat area and the track includes an offset immediately below the ports which is operable to urge the document toward the selector bars.

9. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and wherein said track includes a chamber to which a vacuum may be applied to thereby form the document brake.

10. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and said brake includes a chamber formed in the track and wherein a means including a valving mechanism is provided to admit either a negative or a positive pressure to said chamber.

11. The combination of claim 7 wherein the brake means includes an air chamber formed in the track near the bottom of the bin station, and said means for actuating said brake means includes a pressure source for applying a vacuum to said chamber in response to the approach of a document to said throat area and a positive pressure to said chamber after said returning document has been stopped. 

1. In a device for handling documents of the type that have a notch coded edge; the combination which comprises, a document bin station for storing a multiplicity of said edge notched documents, a document return track disposed along one side of said bin station along which a document being returned to the bin rides, a set of code selector bars disposed within said bin station for holding a multiplicity of documents by their coded notches, said selector bars being disposed so that one set of their corresponding ends face the return track, said bin station further including a wall member disposed in confronting relation to the return track to form with said track a throat area through which a document passes on its return to the bin station, said wall member being located slightly upstream from said selector bars, means for loading a document on said return track so that said document returns through said throat area with its notched edge in a trailing position, an actuatable brake means positioned along the track operable to momentarily stop a returning document with its notched edge in said throat area and to thereafter release the document for further descent below said throat area, and fluid port means positioned at the throat area operable to hold the notched edge of the document against said wall member when said returning document is momentarily stopped and to blow the notched edge of the returning document to the selector bars after it has been released for further descent below the throat area.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the fluid port means are located in the throat area and the track includes an offset immediately below the ports which is operable to urge the document toward the selector bars.
 3. The improvement of claim 1 which further comprises a document sensing station disposed along the track upstream from the throat for controlling the document brake.
 4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and wherein said track includes a chamber to which a vacuum may be applied to thereby form the document brake.
 5. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and said brake includes a chamber formed in the track and wherein a means including a valving mechanism is provided to admit either a negative or a positive pressure to said chamber.
 6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein there is included a document sensing station located upstream from the throat for controlling the operation of the valving mechanism.
 7. In a device for handling documents of the type that have a notch coded edge; the combination which comprises, a document bin station for storing a multiplicity of said edge notched documents, a document return track disposed along one side of said bin station along which a document being returned to the bin rides, a set of code selector bars disposed within said bin station for holding a multiplicity of documents by their coded notches, said selector bars being disposed so that one set of their corresponding ends face the return track, said bin station further including a wall member disposed in confronting relation to the return track to form with said track a throat area through which a document passEs on its return to the bin station, said wall member being located slightly upstream from said selector bars, means for loading a document on said return track so that said document returns through said throat area with its notched edge in a trailing position, an actuatable brake means positioned along the return track, means for momentarily actuating said brake means to stop a returning document with its notched edge in said throat area and to thereafter release the document for further descent below said throat area, and fluid port means positioned at the throat area operable to hold the notched edge of the document against said wall member when said returning document is momentarily stopped and to blow the notched edge of the returning document to the selector bars after it has been released for further descent below the throat area.
 8. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the fluid port means are located in the throat area and the track includes an offset immediately below the ports which is operable to urge the document toward the selector bars.
 9. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and wherein said track includes a chamber to which a vacuum may be applied to thereby form the document brake.
 10. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the track operates to provide a fluid bearing for the documents, and said brake includes a chamber formed in the track and wherein a means including a valving mechanism is provided to admit either a negative or a positive pressure to said chamber.
 11. The combination of claim 7 wherein the brake means includes an air chamber formed in the track near the bottom of the bin station, and said means for actuating said brake means includes a pressure source for applying a vacuum to said chamber in response to the approach of a document to said throat area and a positive pressure to said chamber after said returning document has been stopped. 